Archive for the ‘Rubrics’ tag

The ROBOTC Curriculum contains quizzes to help assess what students have learned, or for that matter, what they haven’t learned. However, as we discussed in a previous blog post, one of the great things about teaching ROBOTC is the ability to differentiate instruction to your students. This can present some issues when it comes to assessment. If a student is progressing quickly through the curriculum, he/she cannot have more assessments than another student. Students all have to be assessed equally. This then begs the question of how you can have the students move through the curriculum at different rates while still assessing them equally.

One of the ways I’ve been able to address this is through the use of rubrics, like the one below:

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Programming Rubric

The programmer uses Pseudocode within the comments to display a logical plan to solve the Mission.

Unsatisfactory – No Pseudocode included.

Satisfactory – Pseudocode is included but it does not display a logical plan to solve the mission.

Good – Pseudocode is included and it displays some logical thinking and something of a plan to solve the mission.

Exemplary – Pseudocode displays a logical plan to solve the mission. The plan is well thought out and clear.

The programmer is able to solve the Mission efficiently and repeatedly.

Unsatisfactory – Less than 70% of the mission is completed.

Satisfactory – Between 70 and 80% of the mission is completed.

Good – Between 80-90% of the mission is completed.

Exemplary – All of the mission is completed, and is able to be completed repeatedly.

Readability

Unsatisfactory – Code is hard to read and understand.

Satisfactory – Code is readable but is difficult to understand completely.

Good – Code is readable and understandable, but unclear is certain places.

Exemplary – The code is tabbed well and takes good advantage of white space in order to make it very easy to read.

Comments

Unsatisfactory – No Comments included.

Satisfactory – Basic Comments are included but some important parts of the code are not explained.

Good – All of the code is commented but explanations could be more complete.

Exemplary – All of the code is commented and the comments are thorough and comprehensive.

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The nice thing about this rubric is that the student does not have to complete the programming challenge in order to be assessed. Just like in any other class, students might not learn a concept to mastery on its initial presentation. You never want a student to reach their frustration level, so this gives the teacher an opportunity to clear up misconceptions while still assessing the student.

Another thing that a teacher can do is utilize Exit Slips. Once again, if students are working at different instructional paces, then the Exit Slips can general. You can ask questions like, “What part(s) of the programming challenge were you able to finish today?” This type of metacognition is valuable for students as they complete projects that last several days. Or, the exit slip can be a review of previously learned concepts. Either way, Exit Slips can play an important role in both teaching and assessing.

Fortunately for teachers, robotc.net contains a wealth of information for extension activities. The ROBOTC blog contains a section entitled “Cool ROBOTC Projects.” Here, there is a wealth of ideas that teachers can look at in order to create an interesting activity.

Moreover, the ROBOTC forum contains a section dedicated to projects. This can also be researched in order to find ideas or interesting projects for your class. Also, the forum can be used to ask questions as you begin to plan and implement a project. Here, you really get the best of both worlds: A wealth of ideas and choose from and a dedicated community willing to help you with those ideas.